Aside from the Prizm, I haven't busted the retail version of any of these, and any Pinnacle or Press Pass at all, so this could be fun.

The last time I busted one of these 10 pack basketball repacks, I pulled a grand total of zero Raptors. This time, I got one. And, since I didn't do badly with collation when building this set last year, I actually need this in my Raptors collection.

But it is disconcerting to pull a pair of cards for a defunct team over 1 card for a current team.

So, since I only pulled one Raptor, I'll add these college cards of two future Raptors, thus doubling my collection of Sonny Weems cards.

In addition to the Weems Reflector parallel, here are some more parallels. I guess if I wanted parallels, it would have to have been a red one. I'm happiest about the Plumlee, since I didn't bust any retail Hoops last year, so that's my first red parallel from that set.

3 players showed up twice across the packs. While I like getting a pair of cards of Canada's first #1 NBA draft pick, getting dupes of a card when you only bust two 4-card packs is a bummer.

But it was Barry Larkin's kid that won the volume battles with 3 cards. And not one of those silly HRX cards either. I wonder if I should dump some of his cards in the lap of some Barry super collector.

Prizm does mean you are going to get some interesting content when it comes to retired players, and this one came through with these two (in addition to the Grant Hill and Sam Perkins). Usually, the facial hair would make the Lucius Allen the easy winner, but that was a dupe of a card that came from a previous repack. So, the vote for my favourite card of a player from the past goes to D.J.

Actually, my pre-Raptors loyalty to Boston might have made me vote that way anyhow.

Opening with Hoops, closing with Hoops. My fave photo of this bunch. Looks like it might have been a photo from the NBA finals as well.

Tuesday, 30 December 2014

And no better way to wrap up the year with some repacks. I took advantage of a boxing week sale to pick up a couple repacks, both to finish this year and start 2015 with. All 4 major sports were covered. A 75 card football repack. A 10 pack basketball repack. A 4 packs and an auto hockey repack. And the same for baseball. Thus meaning I can close and open a year with 2 repack posts.

Here's the Choice pack. The Roy would go in the mask binder, but it is a dupe. So, the most interesting card for me is the Aalto. For the reason that he is first overall alphabetically in NHL history.

Typical Victory snoozer of a pack. A couple pieces of trade bait on the right that are already packaged up, but that's it. The one goalie card doesn't even have that impressive of a mask binder photo.

But the Luongo and DiPietro here qualify. So that's a step up. I guess.

And the last chronological pack is the best one for me. The only Senator of the break. A really great photo on the Wilson with a rinkside feel, and the gold parallel is a mask binder card.

But it is going to be the auto saving this repack. I was certain it would be some rookie auto of a guy with about 20 NHL games to his credit.

Well. The only thing I was right about in that statement was the guy part.

An announcer autograph. So it wasn't a rookie, nor does he have a single NHL game to his credit. But this is almost better. Sure, Dennis Beyak doesn't have the most legible autograph, but it is still a really unique addition to my collection. I pulled a coach autograph from a repack pack earlier this year - might as well add another oddball as my last one of the year.

Monday, 29 December 2014

As the last of 4 packages came from COMC today, thus wrapping up the 200ish cards I had shipped in November, all from either COMC Challenge funds or Black Friday shopping sprees. 2 came in boxes that fit perfectly the # of cards I ordered. 1 was a Black Friday shopping spree, and I opted to use 40 cents of my money to have a pair of Winnipegers placed inside hard top loaders.

So, that left a 30ish card envelope to house the last bunch of cards, and to answer a question from $30 a Week Habit as to what cards are opted for when you don't specifically choose which cards would be on the outside.

I think there might be a rhyme or reason to at least one of them. There were 4 top loaders in the package. One was empty, but the others housed cards.

I wanted a Montreal Royals card, and I figured there would be one from some sort of throwback set highlighting Jackie Robinson, and there was one. This was from a set at the 2012 National Convention. It was also almost a centimeter wider and longer than the standard cards, thus making it a perfect candidate for a top loader. So, if you order a card that is larger than the rest, those will be the ones that end up in these.

The other two, on the other hand, were random.

Remember the 80s? When you could pull some random little person off the streets, give him a child-sized jersey and call him your mascot? I guess it was cheaper than some furry costume.

And the other was a 70 cent autograph of a Kitchener Rangers alumni, complete with a horribly airbrushed jersey that makes them look like beer league players. But, it is still one for the hits portion of that collection.

So, those are the ones they opted for for me to have in the toploaders. But, there was only one really costly card in this envelope, and that was relative to the cost of the cards and for me, really disappointing for an on-card, Hall of Famer autograph from Five Sta numbered to /115.

You know. Going through a bunch of 1990 Pro Set and Score that are in the attic and finding an incredibly valuable card.

Well, the first part is true. The second part is somewhat of an exaggeration, but I did find something nice that I didn't remember having that would fit into one of my PCs.

An auto from a Kitchener Rangers alum (that I got in-person at a card show in 1991ish) and of someone who really doesn't have too many certified autos out there. While I would rather have one with the "Congratulations!" message on the back, this one will still be added to the hit portion of my alumni collection.

Sunday, 28 December 2014

Yes. This package was so filled with goodness that it is going to have to be spread over multiple posts. I've had this package in my hands for a bit now, and still don't know how many posts, and how I'm going to split up the cards and show all of them. The easiest way to start is just to show the football portion, neglecting any of the hockey or baseball portion so far.

The top current football member of the 2/14 binder was well represented in this envelope, as I now have 15 different Alshon Jeffreys in my collection. Much as liked the Prestige design this year, my favourite in this bunch has to go the MINI out of Magic.

And the football portion of 2/14 collection wraps up with this manupatch - by far the thickest card in the mailbag, and a very likely candidate to be the thickest card in the 2/14 binder.

And this is a perfect lead-in to the rest of the football stuff.

Bills!

Bills!

Bills!

Wha? Yup, the last one might have just been a part of random Sage Hit cards put into a plastic snap case to keep the cards from moving around, but Thad Lewis was a Bill for about 5 minutes last season, and that's good enough for me to call this card a worthy addition to the Bills collection. If a college auto of Anthony Dixon counts, then why shouldn't this?

And that puts a small dent into the "to post" box. Which is currently at about 95 cards.

Saturday, 27 December 2014

What did I treat myself to for Christmas? A box of cards from the LCS, waiting for a Boxing Day sale, of course. It was mostly hockey on sale, but the prices dropped on a pair of baseball products. 2014 Bowman Draft Jumbo and Panini Classics were my two options for on sale baseball.

I opted for the one where I could pull cards like this:

Yup. I'd much rather have this base card with catcher's equipment from the early 1900s as opposed to an auto of someone who might not sniff the majors until 2017. It is even nicer to look at other recent cards of his on COMC, and see that this doesn't appear to be a re-used image.

And a nice little write up on the card backs. Probably not needed for the current players in the set, but really nice for the legends. The base set is put together more or less alphabetically by first names, with the first 150 being a mix of Hall of Famers and current players, with the final 50 being rookies. The packs are 8 cards, with 4 or 5 from the first group, 2 rookies, and 1 insert, 2 if they include a hit.

So, that means the veteran portion is slightly more scarce of a pull than the rookies. With 24 packs, I had perfect collation with the rookies, missing only 2 of them from the set (Matt Davidson and Randal Grichuk). I was 34 short on the others.

The legends portion is filled with people you don't see or won't see in a Topps product. Give me a chance of pulling a Shoeless Joe card any day.

And here are more names that showed up in my packs, but are rarely if ever seen in Topps. A Jim Thorpe baseball card? And a whole bunch of people who haven't been seen in Topps products in a while. I know using COMC isn't always the most accurate, but the most recent Topps appearance from this group was Miller Huggins on a 2011 release. Some show up in a 2010 Yankees themed release, but that's it for about a decade for cards of some baseball legends.

I had one parallel in each mini box. I guess the Negro League uniforms don't have to be photoshopped. It makes for a beautiful looking card, especially with the silver background on the black and white photo.

And now, the insert sets, which landed me 6 of each.

The Lumberjacks is quite cheesy with the forest background, and perhaps I would have liked to had at least one player from the black and white era show up in the Stars of Summer, but that's a minor beef. And at least I pulled Met and Blue Jay from this.

And the hits. A redemption for a pitcher with a 10.90 ERA this past season? Ouch. I'll still enter the code and see what comes of it. And he was only a rookie and was a Rule 5 draftee. So, maybe a year in the minors will make this better than it seems now. The others are a little more pleasing. I love the design on the Castro, and Joey Gallo is a pretty good pull. And you can kinda parse his auto. There's the off-sticker J. A Y. And the entire last name. That's a lot better than Garin. Nothing major, but I really didn't buy this product looking for a major hit - I just wanted some great old school names.

Friday, 26 December 2014

I have been sending any sort of Gabriel/Gabe related cards on the way to the Clubhouse over this year. In return, this package showed up my way just before the holiday, adding a pair of Buffalo Bills hits to my collection. They're always welcome as a yet another playoff-free season draws to a close in Orchard Park. But at least they waited until December to stick the knife in.

Off to a PWE trade with Baseball Card Breakdown. Gavin posted some $1 trade bait, and I was all over this one for my Canadian content collection. This Ryan Braun was the only one so far to be born in my hometown and have it on the back of the card. This makes me one of a handful of people who power collect this Ryan Braun over that Ryan Braun.

And here's one more for my 2/14 PC, adding my first autograph of the late Brad Halsey into my collection. To the best of my knowledge, he's one of two members of the 2/14 binder to pass away this year, along with Nelson "Viscera/Mabel/Big Daddy V" Frazier.

But, wait! There was more! Such as these 1/1s for my Carter collection. A shiny parallel and a 3* parallel. I didn't even know those existed, but they'll still go into my Joe Carter binder.

And any sort of Fan Favorites card is always welcome, even if it isn't a super sparkly and shiny one-of-one.

So, that wraps up two more envelopes, and all but one of the packages that showed up the past few days. That still doesn't cover a huge mailing from TMM, and a bunch of COMC Challenge cards that were spread out with about 200 cards over 3 packages.

Thursday, 25 December 2014

There were a good number of packages coming into my abode over the past week or so. While some will have to be spread out over multiple trade posts, some won't. In fact, I can combine 4 of them into one post as I highlight 4 cards I picked up. 2 from ebay, 2 from listia.

First up is this addition to the 2/14 binder, picked up on ebay, again as part of the turnaround from that Sundin relic. I figured that since he was a quarterback, Wenning would make it into some set just so they can have a card of him if the injury bug hits Baltimore. I'm surprised it took this long to get it, but he finally appeared on a card with the Ravens in Crown Royale. The picture is set in front of a separate silver background. So it is somewhat of a silhouette. But not quite. Still, it is my first hit of his and my second card overall, joining an Upper Deck base card.

I saw someone that had some 99 cent short prints out of O-Pee-Chee, so I grabbed a few of those for the set build. And when looking for something to add with the combined shipping, I came across this card of 2/14 baby and Kitchener Rangers alumni Boris Valabik. This is my first non-Thrashers card of his. There was also some set building cards in this envelope, as my wantlist for this year's OPC set continues to be reduced.

And staying with the theme of Rangers alumni, here's another one. While the Valabik is destined for the 2/14 collection, this one will be added to the alumni collection. This Topps issue is my second card of his. Although I probably overpaid in terms of Listia credits, I'm trying to unload them anyhow and didn't really care.

Ditto for this one in terms of overpayment, but this is my second Desert Shield card, and my first that actually hits one of my PCs.

Those holidays being both Christmas and my 2/14 birthday on the same piece of cardboard. This one is going to be a pain in the arse to store, as the Santa hat fluff is bursting through the relic slot. I've got is stored now as the only card in a 25 card plastic holder so as to minimize scrunching.

I never thought I would say something like that in relation to a card.

Anyhow, here's the back.

And unlike last year, even the write-up on the back is appropriately Christmas-y.

This card was part of the turnaround on the Mats Sundin relic. I've still got some money sitting on my Paypal. I might do something on Boxing Day with it.

Wednesday, 24 December 2014

Nothing card related today, but it seemed like a good day for a brag photo nonetheless by showing Charlie's 4th Santa picture. He alternates between behaving for it and not, so next year should be a chore.

Tuesday, 23 December 2014

Time to wrap Saturday up with the hockey and football content. Those are pretty sparse volume-wise, so in an effort to salvage something in terms of volume, I picked up a football box at Target from Panini with 6 packs of 2013 Score, 2 Hobby packs of 2013 Prizm and 1 pack with 3 Prizm inserts.

In retrospect, I should have stuck with what I had. But, those are up later. I'll start with my hockey and football keepers from the show.

Opening up with my big spending purchase of the day. 1 whole dollar. But, it did add a rare appearance of a hockey fight immortalized on cardboard to my collection. While I love the fact it is a vintage OPC card from 1973, it still isn't my favourite brawling card. I still have to vote for a 2-14 card in that small collection.

Speaking of the 2-14 collection. Here's one new card for that binder.

And here's another!

And finally, a WHA card is always a nice grab from a quarter bin. Even if it wouldn't exactly count as a perfectly centered card.

And that's it for that, although some of my other finds will be on their to other bloggers in 2015.

So, lets' dig into the box of regret.

Starting with the separate bag with Prizm inserts. A guy who has barely played this season (except to fumble), someone who has yet to play in a single NFL game, and someone who was suspended this year. That is painful. The purple is /49.

The Prizm packs didn't even contain a single shiny card. This insert was all of note in there.

Bills content in the box? All dupes from my PC.

Rookies seemed to fall at one per pack. And these were them. Geno is set aside for an envelope that will head to Bob Walk The Plank sometime in January 2015. Other than that, at least 4 of the other 5 guys are still in the league. Franklin had to retire due to a neck injury.

You got either a parallel or a rookie insert in each of the packs. And here these are. More Geno for BWtP. I do like the blue border parallels, although that might be because the border colour works with the team colours.

So the photography is going to have to save this box. And it does somewhat. I love cards where the photos were taken during some sort of precipitation.

But it is the horizontal cards that really came through. I've pulled that Randall Cobb Lambeau Leap card before. It is getting highlighted again because it is a beauty. I just wish there was a cheesehead in the picture. That fire helmet thing doesn't count.